If you like our site, please consider joining our club!
By joining you will help ensure that we can continue to provide this service
JOIN HERE!

How much of the restoration will you do or did

PeeWee
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:26 am

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by PeeWee »

@mal : did you have any bad experiences with work that Salis did for you or other people ?

User avatar
malmac
Posts: 796
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 2:10 am
Location: Toowoomba, Australia.
Has thanked: 1 time

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by malmac »

PeeWee wrote:
Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:22 am
@mal : did you have any bad experiences with work that Salis did for you or other people ?
I am in Australia, so have no experience with work from Salis. I do get parts from there amongst other sources.
Jan at Salis has been very helpful and I think he would always do quality work.

I have had my frame straightened by a chap in Australia, but that was many years ago and can't think of his name.

Other than that I have done all the work on refurbishing my engine myself.

Mal
mal - R69s
Toowoomba- Australia

User avatar
Discogodfather
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 4:45 am

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by Discogodfather »

One of the things that stands between restoring your own bike is knowledge, which is an easy fix: just learn new things. The other issue is usually an excuse about time and general economy, which is much harder to deal with.

Everyone does a bit of a metric in their minds about how much something will cost and how long it will take. It usually takes us completely out of the game to begin with - we simply cannot afford it in either time or money.

The the secret is to think of it holistically, not as some kind of single, linear event. If you see it as work, and do a little every day (or ever weekend), even if it is just 1 thing (like turning one screw, labeling 1 wire, etc) then these issues tend to resolve themselves. Buy parts as needed and just go through it item by item. Make sure you have something else to ride, something dependable, so there is no "waiting" for something. Don't set time targets and forget time, just think of it as a regular ritual. If your tired or have something else to do, then do it and don't feel bad. Just enforce a rigid code: you have to do at least 1 thing in your free time every week.

I've found this is the key to stress free success in projects going back 25 years. Adding a few projects to the mix also is possible, you just do something else when your waiting on something from the other project. The key thing is to DO something, not think about it too much. I've probably wasted half my free time worrying about the effort it takes to do something which actually barely rivals the effort to think about it in the first place.
1969 r60/2, 1972 r75/5, 1973 Norton Commando, 1974 Ducati 750 GT, 1966 Honda 450 Black Bomber, 1965 Honda Superhawk, 1971 Honda CB 750

San Francisco, CA

User avatar
Martyb
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2017 10:17 pm
Location: Brisbane Australia

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by Martyb »

Interesting thread and I thought I'd jump in as I've done a few builds over the past several years and each one I go a little further with what I'll attempt.
1. Paint - I'd love to learn to do this myself but I've found a guy that does a brilliant job, is quick and reasonably priced
2. Welding - This is something that I will explore but again I know someone that has been welding for the last 30 years and is quick and reasonably priced and understands what's needed for things like replacing centre stand brackets, repairing fins and exhaust threads... it will take awhile (maybe 30 years) for me to gain those types of skills.
3. Head work and cylinders- currently I do farm this out but is definitely something I'd like to have crack at (on my own bike)..
4. Crank - I'm working with someone that has the tools, we've built a crank jig, we have the right press so this will be a work in progress and long term is something that I'd like to get proficient as there's not that many doing here in Australia....
5. Final drive - I do
6. Electrics - I do
7. Gearbox is the next project and I plan to do this moving forward
8. Engine build - I do.

Its been an interesting journey and continues to be a journey.... My aim is to make every build better than the last and to do a bit more myself each time. The best part is I never stop learning!

My next project is my R68 and I'll post a thread early next year when I kick it off!

User avatar
Rodolfo850
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 11:05 pm
Location: Guatemala, Central America
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by Rodolfo850 »

malmac wrote:
Wed Sep 15, 2021 4:19 pm
jwonder wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:01 pm
I do everything myself except:

- Paint of bodywork and frame, including pinstripes. I have a great painter and striper who knows vintage BMWs. I do small paint work myself though.
- Crankshaft rebuilding. Currently I do not do this but I am setting up to do it myself. Will let you know truly how hard it is after I set up and rebuild a few of mine.
- Head rebuilding. I do not do this. There are some experts out there. If others were not doing it I would figure it out but you do need a lathe, milling machine and valve grinding tools all of which I have.
- Cylinder boring/honing. As above.
- Chrome and Cadmium plating. I have the experts handle this.
- Anything that involves caustic chemicals. I will let others who do it for a living handle those!!
- Lacing wheels. Just too time consuming and I have a friend who has done it for years.
- Mounting tires. I can do it and have done it, but it’s too hard on the old body. Again the same friend who laces wheels does this for me.

Everything else I do!!!

Since I am lucky enough to own a small machine shop (for our vintage race cars) I have made all the BMW tools myself and in the process of making a crank jig now. Will let you all know how that turns out!!
James

Thanks for the update.
Perhaps we can start a thread on the crankshaft rebuild.
While there are many things I will not be attempting, like chrome plating and also rebuilding the worn journals on the crank.
I have already started on the press tools for disassembly, so I am following along behind you.
We could incorporate the crankshaft trueing stand as part of that thread.

Regards Mal
Nice Job Malmac, I have been following your posts, and you have a really high end skills and enthusiast soul.

I learnt a lot from the tools you have made, I also have my own version of Matra and Ed korns Many in one.

I would like to help with the post (about crankshaft rebuild), since I have done my own tools and could fix within BMW specs R27 & R60/2 cranks.

Kind Regards

Rodolfo
Guatemala

Werner1111
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2016 6:39 pm
Location: Hollyweird, CA

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by Werner1111 »


Nice Job Malmac, I have been following your posts, and you have a really high end skills and enthusiast soul.

I learnt a lot from the tools you have made, I also have my own version of Matra and Ed korns Many in one.

I would like to help with the post (about crankshaft rebuild), since I have done my own tools and could fix within BMW specs R27 & R60/2 cranks.

Kind Regards

Rodolfo
Guatemala
I will vouch for Rodolfo. I found a post of his about rebuilding an armature and thought, "Wow, you can do that yourself?!" I got in touch with him and he has figured out how to do a lot of his own work and has been advising me about how to make my own field coils. Doug Rinckes has also been a great help.
R69 R90/6 R100/7 R100S R1150GSA S2R1000

808Airhead
Posts: 1274
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:06 pm
Has thanked: 8 times
Been thanked: 12 times

Re: How much of the restoration will you do or did

Post by 808Airhead »

I have restored 4 post war twins. 1 was complete,the others were mechanical, with good bodywork as received. I am a rider and also a polisher,so I enjoy keeping them shiny but I also enjoy using them. We will all be dead soon,so get out and ride them!! I farmed out crank rebuilds... 3 are cycleworks,and 1 is from Vech's rebuilder and they all have given absolutely trouble free service. in 10 years + I have put an accumulated 30K + miles which is good considering I live on a small island! Finish your projects! So you can at least enjoy all the HARD work...only problem is..these bikes are built so well,that when they are finished,they are just so reliable,the only tinkering is the basic servicing and adjustments....I included some shots of the work I did "myself". In 2 pictures you can see where I repaired a broken main jet holder in a carb of otherwise very nice early R51/2-early R51/3 carb and it is working flawlessly. I did a "weld" repair on it and saved a very rare carburetor.
Attachments
IMG_5276.JPG
IMG_5192.JPG
IMG_2624.JPG
Iphone dads 2015-2016 045.JPG
Iphone dads 2015-2016 020.JPG
IMG_0242.JPG
IMG_0054.JPG
Thomas M.
R69S - R60/2 - R67/2 - R51/3 - R69

Post Reply